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The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience Research, suggests there could be a connection between cannabis use and empathy.
A study of 85 regular cannabis users and 51 nonusers asked participants to complete a test that measures empathy. Researchers also used brain imaging to study some of the subjects, analyzing a region of the brain that plays a central role in mediating the empathic response.
Cannabis users scored higher on a part of the test that assessed emotional comprehension, or the ability to understand another’s emotional state. In the imaging section of the study, cannabis users had greater connectivity in areas associated with emotional and empathy-related regions.
Víctor Olalde-Mathie, an author of the paper and a neuroscientist at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, said he was motivated to explore the link between cannabis and empathic ability because of the sparse research on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis.
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